From the event

Introductory
remarks by the Secretary General

Informal
meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission
at the level of Foreign Ministers

Good morning. I would like to begin by welcoming Foreign Minister Arseniy
Yatsenyuk to this, his first informal meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission.
Welcome, Arseniy.

Very soon we will mark the tenth anniversary of our Distinctive Partnership
which will give us an opportunity to take stock or our achievements,
and look forward with hope to the future of this unique partnership.

In Ukraine, despite a turbulent political year, the country’s leadership
has pressed ahead with reform plans, and NATO Allies have lent concrete
support to these efforts.

We appreciate Ukraine’s substantial contributions to our common security,
and will continue to assist, through practical cooperation, the implementation
of far-reaching reform efforts.

Capable, modern security institutions, calibrated to the country’s
national security needs, able to contribute effectively to multinational
peace support efforts and subject to effective mechanisms of civil control
are clearly in Ukraine’s national interest. Many challenges still lay ahead of us. Today’s meeting is a clear signal
that we remain prepared to face these challenges together.

NATO’s doors, to an even closer relationship, remain open, but it is
ultimately up to Ukraine’s people, and their elected leaders, to determine
the country’s future path with NATO.

With that, ladies and gentlemen I would like to give the floor to Minister
Yatsenyuk.